A woman from Mbwelle village in the Kwatas district of Bokkos Local Government Area said eight of her relatives were killed during the April 9 attack by suspected Fulani militia. The assault, which lasted more than two hours, left the community with over 20 dead. In a video posted on Sunday by conflict journalist Kim Masara Usman, the woman claimed that soldiers from the Operation Ensuring Peace (OPEP) task force, stationed less than three kilometres away, failed to intervene when residents called for help.
She recounted that the attackers shouted "Allah Akbar" while firing on villagers, and that the troops did not move to the scene. After the violence, the militia retreated to the nearby Fulani settlement of Korong, a village they had previously forced residents out of. A gun truck belonging to Sector 5 of the OPEP task force was later seen parked in front of Korong, which the woman interpreted as providing security for the attackers. She lamented that the soldiers appeared to guard the herders' cattle while abandoning the civilians they were meant to protect.
